Publisher Wixen sues Pandora over use of lyrics

Wixen, an independent music publisher, has sued Pandora over the audio company’s display of lyrics. Pandora shows song lyrics for some tracks playing on both its mobile and desktop versions thanks to partnerships with third-party services such as LyricFind. Wixen claimed that its clients’ work is not licensed to Pandora. The publisher said it notified Pandora in early 2018 about the lyrics issue, and while the complaint noted that some of the lyrics were been removed last month, Wixen called the delay a “willful and deliberate” infringement of its coprights. Lyrics by Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, and Weezer are among Wixen’s represented artists.

This isn’t Wixen’s first time locking horns with a streaming audio service. The publisher had a well-publicized lawsuit against Spotify over mechanical licensing that reached a settlement in December 2018.